Edward Abbey is a naturalist, although he refused to identify himself as such whenever asked. He preferred to allow his writing to speak for itself, without the labels. Nonetheless Desert Solitaire reads like a politically oriented wilderness journal. Based upon his time as a park ranger in Utah in the 1950s and subsequently his personal adventures in the southwest of the country, the memoir is part scientific analysis of his surroundings and part political commentary upon the effects of human civilization on native ecosystems, especially protected lands. At times Abbey becomes Zane Grey, theorizing about the grand adventures of a gold miner who's bones or campsite he's discovered, but at other times he can be more easily compared to Rachel Carson and her political discourse about the scientifically disastrous influence of human interference with wildlife.
As the title suggest, Abbey muses to great length about the isolation which his time in the wilderness inspired in him. He expresses a simultaneous distaste for people and deep existential yearning for their presence. Since he spends much of his time alone in the desert, for instance, the rare chance encounter with a hiker or a native seems to have been cause for celebration. Abbey learns to find peace by living as harmoniously with nature as possible. His personal creed is nonviolence. In fact he writes a bit about his religious convictions, which, although he never identified as such, seem consistent with Buddhism. He turns to nature to teach him about his soul, finding solace in the harmony he eventually cultivates with his surroundings. Perhaps this deeply personal religious experience with nature is Abbey's motivation for his harsh criticism of meddlesome tourists and ignorant government agencies.
Abbey seems primarily to be attempting to express what his experiences mean to him. As the reader can gather, Abbey devoted years of his life to mastering this relationship with nature, often consulting with natives to better understand the natural rhythms. Whatever peace and meaning he found in the desert, it was enough to drive him to write this book in which he vehemently advocates for the sanctity of these preserved lands. He's a harsh critic when it comes to humanity's impact on nature. An early proponent of sustainability, Abbey's words have joined other conservationists and naturalists of his day to lay the groundwork for our contemporary relationship to natural environments. As Abbey notes, humans can no more remove themselves from nature than they can control it. Rather we must learn to coexist harmoniously and in doing so may find a deeper meaning to existence.
